Waiting
by Anorak Myth
Summary: Toboe and Kiba are separated from the others during a storm.  Toboe is upset at being left alone with his alpha, who he thinks is just a little bit frightening.  Two-shot, Kiba/Toboe bonding NOT romantic, Brotherly!Tsume/Toboe, some implied Kiba/Hige
1. Waiting

Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain and am not making any profit from this writing.

Takes place soon after the events in Episode 6, where Kiba challenged Zali's pack and lost.

Waiting

It was not that Toboe disliked Kiba. Quite contrary, he looked up to the white wolf. In the pup's mind, he was almost as awesome as Tsume – but not quite. No one could ever compete with Tsume, alpha or not, and Toboe felt bad for thinking it, but he would have greatly preferred being alone with Tsume, or even Hige, to being alone with Kiba.

He liked the white wolf, really he did, but at the same time, Kiba made him nervous. Tsume and Hige were predictable, easy to read. When Tsume was angry, he snarled and snapped at everyone. Hige was the most easy-going, and he hardly ever got angry. When Kiba was angry, he closed himself off. He was a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment.

Toboe never worried very much when the pack was together. Tsume could handle the white wolf if he ever really lost his temper with the pack. So far, though, it had never gotten to that point, and the pup attributed this to Hige, who seemed to have a calming influence on the white wolf. Tsume and Hige could deal with Kiba's temper, but Toboe was not sure that he could.

Knowing all this, Toboe was dismayed to find himself trapped with Kiba in a storm. The white wolf was already in a foul mood at being not only delayed, but separated from the others to boot. Toboe carefully tried to avoid any trigger points to his anger.

"Um, Kiba?" he asked, nervously. The darker-haired boy turned slightly towards him, which he figured was as much invitation as he would get to speak.

"Are we going to keep looking for the others?" he bit his lip while he waited for his answer. Kiba's frown only deepened.

"No. We'll find them in the morning," he said, and his voice was steady and relatively calm, despite his obvious irritation.

"Oh. Okay. So where are we going?" Toboe queried, feeling slightly buoyed by the lack of frost in the older wolf's tone.

"We're going to wait out the storm."

At that moment, thunder cracked loudly. He jumped, feeling the hair on the back of his neck stand up, and grabbed tightly to Kiba's arm. He felt the muscles stiffen under his touch but, to his credit, Kiba made no attempt to remove the offending hands, whether by cutting words or by force. Toboe held onto him until he found a cave.

"Are you sure this is safe? What if there's something in there?" he asked worriedly.

"Why? Do you smell something?" Kiba responded calmly, not sparing a glance toward the younger wolf.

"N-no, but it's raining, and the scent could be gone and –"

"Let go."

"What?"

"Let. Go." Detecting a command in his alpha's words, Toboe obeyed, albeit reluctantly, and released his arm. Kiba strode into the cave, his stance tense and on guard, as always. The pup waited for an admonishment for his childish fears or an indication that there really was another animal in the cave. Neither came. Rather, the older wolf merely called him in.

"It's empty. Come on," he said simply. His tone was not annoyed like Tsume's, nor was it taunting like Hige's. Toboe quickly stepped into the cave and followed him, stopping within inches of the older wolf. Kiba raised an eyebrow at his behavior, but declined to comment.

He sat on the cave floor, crossing his legs beneath him, and focused on the entranceway. Toboe settled next to him, again wishing that he were with Tsume or Hige, despite Kiba's tolerance of his fearful behavior. He would not have hesitated to cuddle into Tsume, because even though the grey wolf would snarl at him at first, he would allow the contact. In this kind of cold, he doubted Hige would push him away either. Kiba, though, was an unknown, and Toboe's fear was still greater than his chill.

Nonetheless, he was only a puppy. To ask him to sit quietly all night during a thunderstorm was too much. He managed to keep his silence until the thunder stopped, though the rain still pounded the already muddy ground outside.

"Hey, Kiba?" he said softly.

"What is it?" was the response, after a moment. He did not look at Toboe as he spoke, but kept his gaze trained on the raindrops outside.

"Do you think Tsume and Hige are alright?" Toboe watched carefully for his reaction. He had begun to slump against the cave wall, but now he suddenly sat rigidly straight, his shoulders tense.

"They'll be fine," he said tightly, "They can take care of themselves."

Toboe swallowed.

"You don't think they've been split up, do you?" he asked. Kiba whipped his head around, staring at him. He was silent for a long moment, seemingly deep in thought, but then he turned his gaze back to the rain.

"No. They're smart enough to put their differences aside and stick together," he took in a deep breath, "Hige wouldn't go off on his own in this weather."

"What if he's looking for us?" Toboe wondered if he would, with his powerful nose. Surely, if Hige could scent them, he would come looking.

"He'd better not be," Kiba said darkly, "Even he won't be able to smell anything with this much rain."

"Oh," was all Toboe said. He quieted, and looked outside, trying to see what Kiba found so interesting. He found nothing.

"Are you worried about him?" he asked suddenly.

"Who?"

"Hige," the pup clarified. Kiba frowned.

"He'll be fine. They both will be."

"But are you worried about him?" he persisted.

Kiba was silent, considering.

"Yes," he finally admitted, "I am."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not there to protect him?" Kiba answered, a little hesitantly, as though he was unsure of his answer.

"Why do you need to protect him?" Toboe was really liking this. Tsume had always said that Kiba liked Hige.

"Because," Kiba didn't finish his answer, blushing. Toboe giggled slightly, covering it with his hand. Kiba blushed harder, looking at the ground.

"Sorry," the puppy apologized, not really meaning it, "I'll stop bothering you."

Kiba was too flustered to manage more than a faint nod. No longer afraid, Toboe sidled closer to him and leaned into the dark-haired youth. He stiffened again, but still allowed it. He hesitated, but eventually wrapped an arm around the pup, drawing him in more closely. Already half-asleep, Toboe readily cuddled into the offered warmth.

"Hey, Kiba?" he mumbled.

"What?"

"Do you think Tsume is worried?"

"About you? I'm sure he is," Kiba smiled at him.

"I bet Hige's worried about you," Toboe murmured. Kiba laughed softly at that, and the puppy smiled. His laugh was…nice.

"Go to sleep, Toboe."

Maybe Kiba wasn't so bad after all, he thought, as he drifted off and slept in his alpha's arms.

* * *

><p>The end? I could write a reunion, I guess, but I kind of like it like this. Thoughts?<p>

I know Toboe's pretty baby-ish in this. If he's a little OOC, I'm not fixing it. He needs to be so that Kiba can snuggle him. XD I always resented the lack of Kiba/Toboe interaction in the series. And I mean that in a brotherly/friendship kind of sense, not romantic. :)

Please review, and if you could vote in the poll on my profile, I would be very grateful. It asks for your favorite Wolf's Rain pairing. Happy New Year!


	2. Howl Together

Thank you for reviewing everyone! Due to popular request, I'm extending the story. :) Please enjoy!

Warning: extreme fluff ahead, no yaoi (Tsume/Toboe – really more brotherly than anything, Kiba/Hige – cuddles, no kissing or anything)

Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain and am not making any profit from this writing.

* * *

><p>Chapter 2: Howl Together<p>

"Toboe," a voice said softly. The puppy mumbled incoherently, snuggling farther into his teddy bear.

"Toboe," the voice repeated, "Wake up."

"Comfy," he mumbled, ignoring the request.

"_Up_, Toboe."

He yelped in surprise, his brown eyes flying open as his teddy bear suddenly shifted out from beneath him. Except it wasn't a teddy bear, nor was it any other type of stuffed animal. Instead, Kiba stared down at him. His mouth showed neither smile nor frown, but his eyes were light with amusement. Toboe, still too young to be really embarrassed by his position, with his head now lying in the older wolf's lap, only pouted and sat up slowly.

"Is it really morning already?" he asked, yawning.

"It is," Kiba replied simply, "Ready to go?" He waited a moment for the puppy to gather his bearings before standing, offering his hand. Toboe accepted and was pulled to his feet.

"Can you smell the others?" Toboe asked curiously as he followed his alpha out of the cave.

"A little. The rain washed away our trail, so we need to rely on the wind," he answered. The younger wolf frowned a little, sniffing the air.

"I can't smell them," he said sadly. Kiba nodded, as if that was what he had expected.

"It's easier to track scents on the ground. The wind changes and carries it in other directions. Close your eyes and concentrate," the puppy obeyed, "Now try again."

For a moment, he could only smell Kiba. He pushed past that, focusing on the fainter scents. He caught the musky scent of rabbits hiding in their holes. Farther. He smelled a fox. The adrenaline wrapped up in the scent told him the fox was hunting. Farther. He tried to isolate the scent he wanted.

"Picture what you want, Toboe," Kiba interrupted. He drew in a deep breath, and conjured Tsume in his mind. In his mind's eye, the white-haired man stood leaning against a wall, arms crossed in front of him, his golden eyes glinting with amusement.

_"What's wrong, runt?" _Tsume taunted. Toboe exhaled slowly, and sniffed the air again. He smelled the rabbits, the fox. He smelled trees, a raccoon. Faintly, he smelled something else, far away.

_Tsume._ He opened his eyes, almost laughing with delight.

"I smell Tsume!" he said happily. Kiba smiled.

"Come on, then," he dropped his human illusion and he was suddenly a white blur, racing across the uneven terrain. Toboe followed not far behind. Kiba let out a long howl, and Toboe joined him.

_We're coming._

Their paws thundered against the ground, mud flying up to stain their coats as they ran in the direction of the other wolves. Moments later, another pair of howls answered their call.

_We're here. We're waiting._

* * *

><p>Running up the hill, Toboe barked happily. Tsume's scent was growing stronger, he was sure he would see him very soon. Sure enough, as they raced over the top, he glimpsed grey fur. The puppy lost his footing in his excitement, and rolled down the rest of the hill. Kiba glanced sideways, watching him with mild concern. Toboe barely avoided crashing into Tsume, coming to a halt inches from the older wolf.<p>

"Nice," the grey wolf said sarcastically, by way of greeting him. Toboe ignored the comment as he got to his feet, shaking himself off.

"I missed you!" he whined, nuzzling Tsume, a gesture that was allowed almost solely because of how unexpected it was.

"What the hell?" the grey wolf muttered, startled, "It's only been a few hours."

"But you weren't _there!_" Toboe insisted. Tsume pulled away at that, eyeing him in mingled confusion and exasperation.

"What the hell did you think would happen?" he demanded. The puppy tried to press up against him again, evading the question, but Tsume backed farther away, waiting for his answer.

"I thought you'd _leave!_" Toboe whined, "And we wouldn't find you, and then I'd never see you again!"

Tsume stared at him, his eyes blank. Toboe whimpered. Finally, the older wolf sighed.

"I wouldn't have _left_, you idiot," he said. The puppy's eyes widened and he stared up at him adoringly.

"Dammit," Tsume muttered, "Don't look so happy about it."

Toboe wasn't discouraged, though, and he licked the grey wolf's chin gratefully. Tsume looked a little affronted, but gave up on trying to deter him. It wasn't worth the effort, he decided, especially not when the puppy looked so overjoyed.

Meanwhile, Kiba, having much more control than Toboe of both his emotions and his feet, had braced his front legs and skidded to a stop, albeit not very elegantly, several feet from the pair. He made a beeline for Hige, who wagged his tail happily, but stayed where he was, standing in a grove of trees. The white wolf brushed against him affectionately, yellow eyes glancing over him, checking for injuries.

"Hige," he finally said, reproachfully, snorting in mixed annoyance and disbelief. As usual, he had been right to worry. One of Hige's front feet was caught in what he could only assume was an animal trap (1).

"Sorry," the other wolf answered sheepishly, "I wasn't paying attention."

"You're lucky it's not mangled. You should be more careful," Kiba muttered, staring at the metal that enclosed the other wolf's foot. He nosed it lightly, investigating, before grabbing it, foot and all, in his teeth.

"Yeah, I really don't think that's a good –" Hige started, but Kiba ignored him, chomping down hard. The metal snapped in his jaws.

"Idea," the stocky wolf finished. Kiba released his foot, and spat out the remains of the trap.

"Funny how this always happens," Hige muttered, "Though you might try not almost taking my foot off next time." The white wolf didn't answer, so Hige let it go, pressing his head up against his alpha's chin.

"We were worried," he said quietly, "You two just disappeared. What happened?"

"I didn't realize you were gone until it was too late. I couldn't see much of anything," Kiba paused, "I didn't leave you behind intentionally."

"I know you didn't," Hige replied, remaining pressed against him, "I didn't think that. It was my fault too. I wasn't looking. By the time I realized I'd lost your scent, I couldn't find you."

"You really need to stop relying on your nose so much," Kiba laughed, pulling away slightly to lick the other wolf's face.

"Says the guy that chases the scent of _flower petals_."

* * *

><p>(1) Let's just say it was a fox trap or something.<p>

Meh. Awkward ending. Hope you enjoyed the rest of it though.

By the way, I started writing this chapter on January 17th. This story was posted on January 3rd. In 15 days, there were exactly 100 visitors to this story (and 109 hits). Blew me away to see that number. That's definitely a new record for me. (And today, the total is 281.) Doesn't necessarily mean that that many people liked it, haha, but at least that many were interested enough to look. Thank you all!

Unnonimas, Mark Twain once said, "I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way." :) I love reviews, don't worry about spelling.


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